Their Time in the Sun: Konica Minolta Face-Off Classic Players to Watch

You know how Merrill Hoge and Ron Jawarski make their living on ESPN identifying what it means when a safety lines up eight yards off the line of scrimmage instead of 10? Well, this isn’t necessarily that intense, but if you’re dusting off the sunscreen, breaking out the Ray-Bans and going to Saturday’s Konica Minolta Face-Off Classic, here’s what you might learn if you keep an eye on these 12 guys.

Duke vs. Maryland, 11 a.m.

Duke M Rob Rotanz
Thus far, the Blue Devils haven’t gotten what they’d have liked out of their midfield, a unit that was expected to run nine deep. They’re averaging three points per game from their offensive midfielders, and Rotanz has one goal on the season. Coming into the year, expectations were high for the sophomore from Connecticut — he can dodge, shoot and, with an attackman’s background, has good goal-scoring instincts. In Duke’s 11-8 loss to Maryland last year, the Blue Devils’ got four points from their middies — and that was against a Terp team without Brian Farrell. This year, they’ll likely need at least an early goal from a middie to keep the threat of scoring from up top alive.

Duke LSM C.J. Costabile
On the flip side, Duke allowed six of 16 points to Bucknell’s middies, eight of 15 against Notre Dame and 10 of 18 against Penn. Those numbers are higher than would’ve been expected. Costabile is a dynamic, game-changing longpole both on the ball and between the lines (good enough to have allowed U.S. National Team alternate Parker McKee to move to close defense upon Costabile’s arrival), but he missed time in the preseason to injury. Additionally, he and fellow d-middie Sam Payton are taking the lion’s share of Duke’s face-offs on top of their defensive duties. His performance against Maryland will really help set the game’s tone.

Maryland A Ryan Young
Watching the Terps’ 15-13 win over Georgetown last weekend, several fans mentioned Young’s relative absence on the scoresheet. It didn’t seem, throughout the game, like he’d had a big impact on the events unfolding. He finished with five assists and a goal. That’s the role Young has developed into during his three years at Maryland — a traditional feeder in that he likes to run parallel to the endline with his eyes up, looking for his teammates making moves above the goalline. Keep an eye on Young to know when the Terps have their foot on the gas.

Maryland D Ryder BohlanderBohlander had played himself into the starting lineup before Grant Oliver’s injury, but now the junior has a lot on his shoulders as he’s carrying the third defenseman’s responsibility on a suddenly shallow Maryland defensive unit. So far, he’s looked more than up to the task. Against Duke, he’ll likely find himself matched up with Zach Howell and do a lot of sliding to Max Quinzani and Ned Crotty, keying the Terps’ defensive rotations and recovery assignments.

Johns Hopkins vs. Princeton, 1:30 p.m.

Hopkins A Kyle WhartonSteven Boyle’s hot start has allowed Wharton to settle into the season. The shooter hasn’t needed to rush to find his shot. But against Princeton, a team that showed last week a renewed willingness to score a lot, expect the Blue Jays to look for manufactured goals. In lacrosse, that translates to eight-yard shots from the wing — Wharton’s specialty. In three games, Wharton’s taken 13 shots and seven of them hae hit the cage. He has five goals, meaning only two of his shots that hit the cage have been saved.

Hopkins D Sam DeVore
To date, DeVore has been assigned to arguably the best offensive player of each of Hopkins’ three opponents and essentially shut them down, keeping Siena’s Bryan Neufeld, Delaware’s Curtis Dickson and Manhattan’s James Synowiez nearly out of the box score. Were that trend to continue, we’d likely see DeVore on Jack McBride, Princeton’s head-down dodger with an incredible nose for the goal. Hopkins tends to assign defenders based more on physical skillsets, however, so it’s tough to predict the draw at this point. Either way, in DeVore, fans will see a defenseman who came in playing on a hot streak.

Princeton A Rob Engelke
Stepping into the starting lineup for the graduated Tommy Davis, an opportunistic finisher who complemented the McBrides well, Engelke’s game is more seasoned all around. He had one goal and four assists against Hofstra after finishing with nine goals and four assists last year.

One thing that Princeton did so well last year was move the ball from the attack to the midfield and back with clear goal-scoring opportunities. With Rich Sgalardi gone, that creative ball movement may have to start more at the attack, and Engelke seems like the option to make that happen.

Princeton G Tyler Fiorito
This selection may habe less to do with strategy and more to do with jaw-dropping highlights because that’s what Fiorito has a tendency to produce. In last year’s Face-Off Classic, he made 11 saves — at least three very memorable stops — and let in eight goals as the Tigers announced their arrival as a contender. This year, with star defender Chad Wiedmaier out, he’ll likely see more shots and potentially shots with a higher degree of difficulty. Add in the showdown with long-range shooter Wharton, and Fiorito’s skills will be on full display.

Loyola vs. Notre Dame, 4 p.m.

Loyola A Collin Finnerty
Cooper MacDonnell sprained his shoulder in the first half against Quinnipiac, didn’t play against Bellarmine and is day-to-day leading into Saturday’s showdown with the Fighting Irish. After MacDonnell’s unconscious performance at Navy, it’s clear his absence puts additional pressure on the rest of the Loyola offense. So far, Finnerty has picked up the slack with six goals and three assists in three games. Finnerty is a big shooter who favors a sidearm shot from distance and doesn’t need a lot of angle to finish. Plus, with Notre Dame’s Scotty Rodgers manning the net, this matchup might offer another shooter-goalie showdown if Fiorito-Wharton doesn’t satisfy you in the second game.

Loyola D Steve Dircks
The Greyhounds are reloading their defensive starpower after graduating P.T. Ricci, and Dircks returns after missing 2009 with a knee injury. He’s athletic, good with the ball on the ground and showed a lot of poise early in his career, moving into a starting role midway through his sophomore season and finishing with second team All-ECAC honors. Notre Dame’s offensive personnel is still a bit of a work in progress — they’ll play at least four or five attackmen and likely run three midfield lines, so Dircks can expect several different matchups. What the Greyhounds will need against the disciplined Irish offense is mistake-free D with sound positioning, not flashy take-aways that spark transition.

Notre Dame M Zach Brenneman
Much was made of the freshman middies Notre Dame brought in, but Brenneman has been the story of the year at the midfield so far. He’s big and powerful and gives the Irish a presence dodging down the left alley. Brenneman’s a nice overhand shooter with a knack for disguising whether he plans to move the ball. He’s got a good feel of the game, as well, clearly demonstrated on the final play of the first quarter against Penn State when he fed Neal Hicks on the doorstep for a goal with no time remaining.

Notre Dame D Kevin Ridgway
At 6-6 and with refined on-ball skills, Ridgway essentially represents a new prototype for cover-defenders in lacrosse. He’s rangy, but plays low and under control, which creates an extremely difficult formula to get past. With last year’s top cover defender Sam Barnes missing Notre Dame’s first two games, Ridgway’s had to carry the load, never greater than his impressive performance in the Irish’s opening season win over Duke when he blanketed Ned Crotty.